07ASTANA2934, KAZAKHSTANI BUSINESSMAN AGAIN REQUESTS USG HELP

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S E C R E T ASTANA 002934
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/24/2037
TAGS: AFCHECONEINVELTNEMINETRDIRKZPGOV
PK, PREL, RS, TI, UZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTANI BUSINESSMAN AGAIN REQUESTS USG HELP
WITH BID FOR AFGHAN MINE
REF: A. ASTANA 2344
¶B. ASTANA 2388
Classified By: AMB. ORDWAY FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)
¶1. (S) Rakhat Kereitbayev (General Director of KazInvest,
Chairman of the Board of Kanimansur, and Advisor to Kazyna
Chairman Kelimbetov) updated Econoff on October 14 and 24 on
the latest status of the Kazakhstani bid for Afghanistan's
AYNAK mine (Ref A and B). Zia Massoud, Afghanistan's 1st
Vice President is, according to Kereitbayev, still the
leading Afghan Government (GOA) proponent of the Kazakhstani
bid. Kereitbayev stated that there is tension between
Massoud and President Karzai, who remains on the sidelines,
partly due to his fear of an eruption of a scandal involving
his brother. Karzai's brother, Kereitbayev claimed, is a
drug baron who keeps his money in the Bank of China and is
thus susceptible to pressure by the Chinese. On October 24
Kereitbayev told Econoff that he was somewhat heartened by
Karzai's recent interview to the BBC in which he spoke
favorably of the Kazakhstani bid.
¶2. (S) According to Kereitbayev, the Chinese bid for the
AYNAK mine was largely driven by corruption (ref A), and
China has now seen its chances evaporate. However,
Kereitbayev stated that the Chinese are still pursuing the
AYNAK mine using a Canadian company as a front. Although he
does not know the exact breakdown of the Canadian/Chinese
deal, Kereitbayev said that the Canadian bid is "largely
Chinese."
¶3. (S) Kereitbayev reiterated that the Kazakhstanis' plan to
build a North-South railroad in Afghanistan is contingent on
winning the bid for the AYNAK mine (ref A). He stated that
the Kazakhstanis would do a "50/50" deal with the Afghans on
the railroad and secure funding from the World Bank, the
European Development Bank and, possibly, the Development Bank
of Kazakhstan. He added that Kazakhstan is highly (and
uniquely) capable of building a north-south railroad. Such a
project, Kereitbayev explained, would require a lot of steel,
which the Kazakhstanis could obtain from Russia and Ukraine.
He noted that the Chinese would have no interest in a
north-south railroad, since they would take AYNAK's copper to
China or a Chinese-owned processing plant in Pakistan.
¶4. (S) Kereitbayev continued that the situation in
Afghanistan remains precarious due to the drug trade and
uncertainty about the longevity of the foreign forces'
presence. He was emphatic that Kazakhs are uniquely
positioned to operate in Afghanistan even under challenging
circumstances. To Afghans, he said, "we are Muslims, and we
know how to play the part," adding that the Afghans are
suspicious of the Chinese and resent some of the things they
tend to bring to Afghanistan, such as brothels and gambling
joints. Kereitbayev noted that his firm has a
representative in Kabul, who is a Moscow-educated Kazakhstani
citizen of Tajik descent. This person, Kereitbayev added, is
a Farsi speaker, enjoys Afghans' trust and used to import
Kazakhstani wheat into Afghanistan even back in the Taliban
days.
¶5. (C) The picture painted by Kereitbayev contrasts somewhat
with the one presented on October 10 by Kazakhstan's State
Secretary Saudabayev to Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
SIPDIS
Debra Cagan and the DCM. In that conversation Saudabayev
stated the Afghans have not been particularly favorable to
the Kazakhstani investors.
¶6. (S) Kereitbayev told Econoff on October 24 that he expects
the GOA's decision on the AYNAK mine to materialize soon and
requested USG assistance with promoting the Kazakhstani bid
over the Chinese one (masquerading as Canadian).
Ordway

The information recorded on this site has been extracted from http://Wikileaks.org (Kazakhstan) database..

We wish to express our gratitude to Julian Assange and his team for making this data available as it is an important public record.

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